Random thoughts from a few cantankerous American physicians. All contributors are board certified. Various specialties are represented here. I do not know where this will lead but hope it will at least be an enjoyable read. All of the names mentioned in this blog are pseudonyms, the ages have been changed, and in half the cases the gender as well. All photographs are published with patient consent or are digitally altered to preserve anonymity. Trust us, we're doctors.

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

The above video has not been vetted by MDOD, but this happens every single day in nearly every hospital in America. I have posted on this at least twice... see here, and here.

Our system is being crushed by giving away free care to EVERYONE. Solution? Don't change a thing EXCEPT this, everyone pays for their care. If they can't pay then they get community service to be determined by a court. Even though community service could not possibly pay the tremendous bills generated by those who can not get insurance or CHOOSE not to get it, it would get the message out loud and clear that the ER and American hospitals are not endless reservoirs of taxpayer largesse.

Immediately the bogus ambulance calls and 3am visits for narcotic refills and pregnancy tests would cease. Immediately, our physicians would be seen in as high regard as our dentists, who do get paid for what they do.

I am perfectly prepared for your hate mail on this, but I am the one, as is Oldfart, 'Cat, ERDoc85, Lofty, DRX, and even my friend etotheipi who currently see and treat all comers regardless.

The problem we have is not doing this, it is our inability to get the government to get the message out that riding the ambulance and going to the ER is not "free", you and I pay for it with our taxes, rising insurance premiums, and skyrocketing medical bills. Hospitals are making up the shortfall on your backs. End the 'free care' and most of our problems are fixed.

And for you haters our there, here's some hate, and guess where it comes from? That's right, the left, who perpetually act like fourth graders smoking a joint. Contrarily, I have absolutely no problem with this. Go figure.

The "government" likes the present system just fine, is as happy with it as every freeloader, drug seeker or deadbeat. Because it doesn't cost "the government" a dime; "the government" is the biggest freeloader around..on OUR dime. The only ones paying through the nose for all this are the taxpayers and they're too busy trying to support their families to riot in the streets.

The real question is why we keep electing those "creeps" to Congress. Why do we expect big-time freeloaders to set limits on small-time free-loaders?

I think I know part of the reason: because each of the taxpayers get some small or large gov't "freebie" and they don't want it to stop. I guess the rest of the citizens don't mind gov't sticking it to doctors and hospitals as long as they get theirs. And I suspect there are gov't "handouts" to doctors and hospitals that are secretly or otherwise protected, too. Of course, none of it balances out, or makes any sense. But common sense has long vanished from this society.

I am usually a bleeding heart liberal, but i have to say i agree. When I was pregnant i had to quit taking my husband to my appointments because he would get so annoyed by the people in the waiting room who had no insurance but expected everything under the sun and openly discussed how they did not have to pay for it, so what the hell. meanwhile we are paying outrageous taxes and working hard to pay for our insurance. I have no problem helping people less fortunate, but something has got to give

Here's a novel concept---if you're well enough to do community service, you're well enough to get a job-job or a second job. A good community-service start would be cleaning up graffiti or helping lols shovel the snow.

Welfare was started at a time where women whose husbands were killed or died were left with few options for income to take care of the children. Being left with no father for your children was a recipe for disaster, up to and including ramshackle houses and starvation. Now, chicks can work at nearly any job a dude can, so...

Seems like it's time to ease up a bit on the free handouts for able-bodied people---

I spend thousands of dollars on healthcare each year but I don't spend nearly enough to write it off on my taxes. Very frustrating. The more I work, the more I make, the more I pay the government. I also get no tax benefit by putting my child through college. So I work and put a child through college so she can work at a good paying job and pay taxes. Very frustrating.

so far the democrats posting here seem to be members of the loyal opposition. forty-six years ago i would have voted for JFK. he was for tax cuts and said "ask not what your country can do for you..."

soapbox warning... liberalism and the emotion behind it is good personal policy but lousy public policy. in other words, when individuals meet it would be ideal if they all assumed the best about the other and treated the other like they would want to be treated.

however, when you try to impose this sort of behavior from above with laws and regulations, it brings out he worst side of humanity. it is easy, when on an anonymous level, to take advantage of the goodwill of another group (taxpayers for instance).

there is no face to face, there is no sense, on the part of the recipient of the goodwill, that it came from other people. it came 'from the government'.

also, with the governance of 'groups', ie... african americans, latinos, homosexuals etc... all sense of individualism is lost and, in fact, frowned upon.

i don't know 'the homosexuals' or 'the african americans' or 'the latinos'... i know people. group politics is not only anti-American, but a means to wield power in a divisive fashion and has been responsible for the worst episodes in human history.

we are Americans. we are individuals. we don't OWE anybody anything based on what group they are in. we are given the freedoms we have and have turned them, up until recently, into the greatest civilization in history.

i am conservative because conservative principles recognize the divisiveness of group politics and the wisdom of maximizing choices and freedoms. i do not think we have had many truly conservative leaders in the past fifty years. i am not excited about mccain but then again i have not been excited about a presidential candidate EVER.

back to the original post. people come here for medical care or end up here receiving medical care, still the best in the world, many times because they were lucky, or unlucky, depending on your point of view. to the extent that we cease to see them as individuals but as representative of a 'group', then we are sunk.

pedro needs and gets the necessary surgery after an accident as 'pedro'. if he were 'bob' and was a citizen he would at least be billed for his care and might or might not have insurance or be able to pay the bill, at least in part. but 'pedro' is latino, latinos are 'exploited', he's a 'guest worker', and therefore not only is he not expected to pay, and it's a brave hospital that tries, his case is championed by the left as representative of THE WORST behavior in our country. we just saved his life.

his own government wont pay his bill and because of the reality of group politics he will be shuffled under the carpet and quietly given disability and all kinds of benefits that HE SHOULD NOT HAVE.

as soon as we invent a perpetual motion machine we can take care of 'pedro' and all like him. before that time the stupid decision to put personal responsibility down the list under 'race' or 'group' will crush our system and our country.

try getting elected saying this. JFK's well known truth has become Obama's "Ask what your country can do for you... especially if your skin is not white and you do not have a penis."

Here's a tip for that poor hospital administrator. We are a "refuge" city, OMG the illegals!!!Anyway we have probably 10 with CRF needing dialysis.It seems that if you REGULARLY SCHEDULE THEM FOR DIALYSIS you will not be paid!! If, however, you wait until it is an EMERGENCY DIALYSIS, the hospital (and nephrologist) get paid. Therefore, we say that until creatinine is over 10, acute coronary syndrome is present, or hyperkalemia, etc., you don't get dialysed..They just show up in the ED when they feel bad. Talk about Guvment stupidity...

I've decided to make hourly trips to the tanning salon in order to bronze my skin to a nice south of the border tint. I'm changing my name to Lynnita Priceolenz. Should I need ER help, I'll affect the proper accent and tell everyone I pick strawberries and corn. I'm a shoo-in for free health care, yes? After all, I deserve it.

In my EMS system, we get fucked on 60% of our work. We render care that would get billed for probably $200 a shot for the cadillac of ambulance rides, but because 60% of the degenerates who use us as a taxi don't pay, it really costs about $1000 or more for the honest people.

Meanwhile, I'm driving around in trucks with 250,000 miles, 20 year old boxes on the back because we can't get new shit due to our patients.